Local joining service and music groupA former Kodiak student is joining Up With People, an organization that joins community service with performing arts. Aaron Polasky plays guitar, sings, has a little bit of theatre experience and graduated from Kodiak High School last May. He applied to join the nonprofit Up With People on the advice of one of his father’s co-workers. “(The co-worker) was part of the program, he’d worked for Up With People for abo...

Senate passes bill to turn off daylight saving time in AlaskaThe Alaska Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to eliminate daylight saving time in the state. The bill from Sen. Anna MacKinnon, an Eagle River Republican, passed 16-4 and now goes to the House. The bill would stop the state from springing forward by setting clocks to an hour later, beginning in 2017. Sen. Gary Stevens, a Republican representing District P, including Kodiak Island, said his office recently cond...

St. Mary’s students show science skillsFor some students at St. Mary’s Catholic School, science projects offer a chance to explore something of interest to them in their own life. Those students got that chance Tuesday at a science fair. One student chose to assess whether chewing gum helped students concentrate while taking tests because, science teacher Tia Leber said, he and other students wanted to chew gum in class. “Thankfully, he found out no,” ...

Absurdity is as absurdity doesI find it absurd that the appointment of Mr. (Greg) Spalinger to the P&Z was denied. Mr. Spalinger is a past member of the Borough Assembly. Apparently, neither Mr. (Aaron) Griffin nor the rest of the Assembly, the mayor or the clerk all appear to not know very much about past Assembly members. That is unfortunate and perhaps part of the reasons why some of the Assembly seem to be stumbling over identifying Mr. Sp...

Assembly, P&Z joint session scheduled for ThursdayThe Kodiak Island Borough Assembly and the Planning and Zoning Commission have a scheduled joint work session to discuss the future of updating three sections of borough code dealing with land. At their most recent special meeting to take public testimony on proposed code revisions, P&Z voted to indefinitely postpone the new draft sections of code, which had received numerous negative comments from the public. The...

GUEST OPINION: Get involved with teacher evaluationsIt’s no surprise that when parents and community members get involved in the education process, positive things happen for our children. As a parent, I am the most influential person in my child’s life. When I am engaged and take part in their education, they do better. What happens in our schools directly impacts our children and their future. Children spend about seven hours of their day in school. In most cases...

Open mouth, insert footThis is a response to the March 9 front-page story “Assembly votes down mayor’s P&Z appointee.” I could not believe Aaron Griffin’s response: “I know nothing about him.” He must be relatively new to Kodiak because he sowed total ignorance. He did not do his homework and should be embarrassed and ashamed. I have known both Greg Spalinger and his wife for many years and you could not find a finer couple. Furthermore...

Designer of Kodiak Public Library gets award A Juneau-based architectural firm has been awarded a Design Citation Award for its design of the Kodiak Public Library. MRV Architects received the recognition from AIA Alaska, a chapter of American Institute of Architects, one of the profession’s highest recognitions for an effort that exemplifies excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. “From the start, it was vital to the owners that ...

DISPLAYING HERITAGE: Old Harbor’s Nuniaq Alutiiq dancers share tradition through festival The Nuniaq Alutiiq dancers from Old Harbor performed at the 2015 Festival of Native Arts, which aims to unite the various cultures of Alaska by sharing their rich cultural heritage through traditional dance, music and arts. With the goal to solidify the Alaska Native identity, the festival on March 5 to 7 at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks also serves to educate the public and to facilitate understanding and...

Alaska State Troopers: March 10March 5 At approximately 8:12 p.m., Alaska State Troopers received a request for assistance from the USCG police regarding a traffic stop on USCG property. Investigation revealed a 19-year-old woman was operating a vehicle while her driver’s license was revoked. She was issued an Alaska uniform citation to appear in court at a later date and released from the scene.